#which is perfect for aegis as a character

[fellhellion]

ALSO. Also also. I think while we can all agree vanilla persona 3 has some. wanting performances and line reads, I have to stay I still love the way Karen Strassman delivers the summoning “Persona!” line. Idk there’s something there in the delivery where it toes this line between the strain of a machine speaking and a personality beginning to emerge and and it’s really interesting to listen to.

[barblaz-arts]

charlies face in the box (panel? sorry I dont know the terms) when she says "the wings are new" is adorable perfection

thank you!

are we talking movie or stage play musicals? cuz I've watched a lot of those, tho maybe not as much as i should. like, I should watch rent but im afraid of angst... I've only listened to the songs... Among movie adapted musicals, Hairspray is my favorite, just sharing.

if we're talking actual stage plays, I've seen four productions in our local theater, with only 2 being musicals. i think. the two musicals were about historical figures here in the Philippines(Andres Bonifacio and late president Cory Aquino) and the non-musical one was an adaptation of Midsummer Night's Dream. The fourth one was Romeo and Juliet but I couldnt remember if it was a musical. Probably because it starred a Filipino tv actor and the students watching with us were too damn noisy for me to hear a thing. It's been a while.

There's this one filipino musical called Rak of Aegis that I wish I'd seen. The title is a reference to the rock band Aegis because it's a jukebox musical that features their songs. The stage itself is so cool because it has actual water since the story is set during a flood.

But if we're talking about the broadway musicals, I've obviously only watched bootlegs, which isn't exactly ideal. So Beetlejuice was the only one I've watched because it was the only one I had interest in plotwise. I love me some found family, and I really like the changes the musical made. I tried watching Heathers cuz that plot is craaazyyyyy! But I didnt finish it because I just found those football characters so disgusting. I'd probably try again someday. So other than Beetlejuice, I only really know the soundtracks for musicals like Heathers, Mean Girls, Wicked, The Waitress, Dear Evan Hansen, etc

[thaliajoy-blog]

It is time to cross the Trident...

It's got to end even if it has to be with Fire and Blood.

🌟 Been thinking about comparisons between Asoiaf characters and greek gods. One of the most obvious to me, to compare to Daenerys, is clearly the goddess Athena. For one as a War goddess, since Daenerys becomes a very successful "conqueror & sacker of cities" (one of Athena's names is "Athena Nikè", the Victorious One). Up there ☝️ I represented her wearing the Aegis, Athena's famous mantle/shield (with the head of Medusa on it, hence the green snakes), as she's about to win arguably her most major battle against the slavers, sending the first blow & earning the trust, loyalry & love of thousands.

But Athena is also a goddess dedicated to peace ; like Dany when she takes Meereen, where she decided to learn how to rule & establish a healthy government.

Daenerys replanting olive trees (a symbol of peace & prosperity very much dear to Athena) is very telling ; it's related to Athena's role as a protector of "the city"...olive trees in mythology where given by Athena to the greeks (her favorite, the Athenians), and became a stapple of their culture & a great source of food & wealth.

She is essentially a goddess of the good government of the city, and famously a goddess of wisdom, and is connected to the usual institutions of government, to the good functioning of assemblies & tribunals. Similarly Daenerys isn't only a conqueror, she also does her best to learn to govern the cities she rules, and she has a certain preference for peace times. The episode where Daenerys reprimands & fines a former slave master for demanding money from weavers he had had trained by a slave of his, can also remind us of Athena as a protector of artesans (and she is herself a very good weaver).

One of Athena's most famous epithet is "Pallas Athena", which means "young girl", perfect for Dany who is often called a young girl or young queen. In that optic Missandei can be seen as an extension of herself or a a second Athena ; she's also called a very young wise girl, and her most defining characteristic, her golden eyes, can make us think of Athena's famously striking grey/silver eyes.

Another epithet of hers is "Hippeia Athena", the "protector of horses" which would relate to her Dothraki side. And, talking of subverted prophecies, a myth about Athena was that when she was in her mother's womb, it was foretold that she would be born a boy who would overthrow his father. But she wasn't, and yet regardless, was born as one of Zeus' most powerful & popular children. Like Daenerys is said to be subverting the Azor Ahai prophecy, which posits a male Targaryen to be the savior of the world.

So in any case, Athena is one of the best fits for Daenerys when it comes to greek myths comparisons ! Especially in the seemless fusion she makes of her war/peace attributes. She really only critically lack the "mother" aspect of Dany (who isn't a sacred virgin at all), but it can regardless be seen as symbolic (mother to her people - like Athena has many "protégés", proxy children or favorite people she fight for in myths).

[the-letterbox-archives]

file (1)1-17-000: line of dialogue

thank you for the tag @ominous-feychild for the tag! another character voice one, the phrase being; "Here's a ridiculous motive to do something horrible." (which was later explained to me as; "This is why I'm about to do this No Good, Very Bad Thing. That is also why you are not going to stop me or change my mind.")

since i just leaked the tfadh stories, i'll also share the protagonists, and their reasons for going into the heart.

lady

“There’s nothing left for me. I’ve lost everything. There’s nothing left for me to love. Could you blame me? At least something in that forest will love me and never leave me behind.”

sweetheart & crow

“It’s a whole world to explore, tucked away in the tiniest pocket of the country. What, did you think I wouldn’t want to go? And with my best friend, no less! I just have to ignore the… darker stories.” “I’m following her, okay? I have my reservations about that place, sure, but she really wants to go. I’ve never seen her more passionate. I’m a bit jealous, actually…”

winter and pyre

“We can’t leave. There’s no respite, out there or in here. So there’s no reason to do anything at all.” “Yeah, we are kind of stuck in the middle, hey? Can’t leave, don’t want to stay – there’s no real solution.”

dancer

“I don’t have much else to do. My parents are already making plans. I wanna spare them the pain of seeing me go. Heh, I guess that’s a bit sad, isn’t it?”

rook

“I need to find someone. A part of my soul is missing, I know it. And they’ve got to be in there. I can’t keep living not knowing what happened.”

vex

“Got a score to settle. An old ‘friend’ of mine is in dire need of a sword to the stomach, and I’m happy to provide.”

chalice and hunter

“I burn my whole life down, and for what? Who’s to say he ever even loved me, if he leaves me like this? So, I call this a test. Should he find me again, my heart is rightfully his, as wounded as it is...” “I made a mistake. But for a good reason. Now I have to fix it. I need him to know I love him again. But I’ll find him, I know it.”

hornet and dove

“Me and her, we’re not as good as we used to be. I don’t even want to be here, it’s pointless – I’m sick of being dragged into these things. She needs to learn that we aren’t a thing anymore.” “I need to fix us. We were so good before. I know we can go back to that… I don’t wanna let her go.”

maestro and muse

“My perfect painting in a perfect setting! Why, this is the only place where my love is truly matched. What a spectacular canvas!” “I’m just the subject of art, if– if that makes sense. Didn’t really have a say. Don’t get me wrong, I like the attention, but sometimes it’s too much… It’s comfortable here. Maybe I’d like it better alone.”

opal

“I need to go. Get away. As far as I can. I’m not like my mother, my grandmother, my ancestors… I can’t do this!”

aegis and mouse

“Honestly? I can’t stop my little sister from walking into forests. But I’ve got a bad feeling about this place. A really bad feeling… I’ll keep us safe, though.” “Big forest! Red leaves, pretty flowers! I think we belong here!”

seeker

“I’m getting the truth. We’ve lost so much to The Heart, and I’m putting a stop to it. Besides, nobody else is keen to fix things; it’s all up to me.”

your phrase is; "what are you?"

tagging @autism-purgatory, @moltenwrites, @noxxytocin, @illarian-rambling, @paeliae-occasionally,

@drchenquill, @aalinaaaaaa, @thecrazyalchemist, @the-golden-comet, @glassfrogforest,

and @introchasingstars, + open tag!

[byoldervine]

Character Info - Aegis Cantor

General Info

Name: Aegis Cantor

Nicknames:

• King Aegis of Tyrion (title)

• God of Order (title)

Pronouns: He/Him

Age: Older than the universe

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Zeus

Species: Celestial Tyrion

Place Of Birth: The cosmos

Current Home: Cantor Palace, Tyrion

Appearance

Aegis has blue eyes and slicked-back mint green hair. He has a golden halo over his head, as well as retractable angelic white wings on his back and feathery ears that look similar to his wings. He always wears white suits with either black or gold detailing - the Picrew is pretty much perfect for how I’d imagine it. His appearance is almost always symmetrical and as perfect as he can get it

Personality

Aegis, as his title would suggest, values order above all else, working hard to maintain peace and security across his realm. This can be taken to extremes at times, which can impact his relationships for better or for worse; the difference between unflinchingly practical and coldly detached can be as simple as whether or not he’s acting in your interests. He can become very agitated and distressed when things don’t go to his plans, though he tries his best to keep his composure when around others. Additionally, Aegis is very prideful, wanting to show off his realm and his children as the wonderful, perfect creations they are.

Likes:

• Order and perfection

• Women

• Planning, scheduling, note-taking, etc

Dislikes:

• Unpredictability

• Mess or untidiness

• Questions to his authority

Known Abilities

• Flight - Like all Tyrions, Aegis is able to fly using his retractable wings

• Illusions - Like all Tyrions, Aegis is able to cast mirage illusions, as well as holographic illusions due to his advanced skillset

• Aegis is also capable of wielding spears

Relationships

Family:

• Anessa Cantor (daughter, heir)

• Lazulai Cantor (daughter)

• Sy Cantor (child)

• Mullo Cantor (son)

Friends/Allies:

• Nordsvark Attolus (creator, fellow Celestial)

• Corrus Acaron (fellow Celestial)

• Byoldervine (fellow Celestial)

• General Harkrow (general to the Guardians, loyal follower)

Enemies:

• Angelus (vigilante)

• Enigma (vigilante)

Backstory

Aegis has ruled over Tyrion since its creation, leading with a firm hand to instil perfection upon his new world. Within Tyrion there is peace, prosperity and order. Aegis had previously attempted to extend this order to the other realms as well, sending his angelic forces to provide blessings and grant protection to the inhabitants of other realms, though this was shut down quickly by Byoldervine and never garnered much interest from the other two realms, who had their own means of magical interventions

When Byoldervine passed away, Aegis was the one to push through the grief and keep his fellow Celestials going. He formed the Guardians to infiltrate Terran and live amongst the humans so that they could respect Byoldervine’s wishes to keep the humans separate from the other realms and their inhabitants. To this day the Guardians work in secret to disguise magical or otherworldly activity from the humans

It wasn’t long at all after Byoldervine’s death and the formation of the Guardians that Aegis had his children, who he now works to train to be future rulers of Tyrion

Fun Facts

• Aegis has had a long string of lovers in the past, but has never married. Some theorise that Aegis has never found the perfect partner, despite looking. As a result, none of Aegis’ children have the same mothers, though another theory is that Aegis asked Nordsvark to create the perfect children for him rather than them being born through biological means, which would explain why none of the four children have ever met another parent

• While many people believe that Aegis kept having children until he got a son, in truth Aegis has wanted exactly four children for a good while now; it’s all part of his life plan

• Aegis absolutely hordes notebooks and stationary, I can’t imagine him not having the most extravagant and neatly organised collections in the universe

[glasyasbutch]

What Gets Left Behind (D&D Homework Week 1)

After James D'Amato's RPG Character Backstory Guide.

The last piece of Break that Day has left is the remains of her god piece. The shard of bone chipped off from the dead god's fossilized body that every Aegis gets implanted in them to bring their clay to life, and provide their magic, and link them to their past memories, and to the consciousness of every other Aegis.

The problem, of course, is that God may be infinite, but God's dead body is still a finite resource. Maybe they're not going to run out tomorrow, or soon, but they're going to run out eventually, and what happens then? The refusal of the Aegis to answer that question is what caused Day and Break to walk away the first time, and their stubborn refusal to acknowledge that Break had ever asked it is what caused Day to leave the second time.

A shattered god piece represents just about everything he found fault with in the Aegis, everything Break spent her life fighting against, which makes it all the more ironic that it's the only thing of hers that survived her destruction.

Former Flame

This object is related to a former passion. There was once something that moved you the way wealth, glory, or righteousness moves you now. Choose two five, then describe the detail in your own words: - I could not take this with me on the road. - My interest slowly waned over time until my heart had fully stolen away. - I could hold it in my hand and feel pride. - There were many in my life who smiled when they saw this. - Even now, I sometimes think of it during wistful nights. - This was crafted specifically for me with love. - I made this with my own hands.

"Her name, her full name, is 'Only once you break all earthly bond and dissolve into the astral sea shall you truly know god's fullness'. She went by many shortenings in the time I knew her. Earth, Bond, Sea, Full, True. Astral.

"Break.

"They were first created, the same as the rest of us, in a moment of pure divine desperation, by a god so angry at not being able to do anything that the earth itself rose up to enact His love for the mortal existence. They were created, the next five or so times, by His will as well. Struck down and melted into nothing but mud, only to reform in moments.

"After He was destroyed, we had to rely on each other for our creation. We took to building each other new forms each time one was lost, working together with careful eyes and hands to make sure all the details were just right. Whoever held them dearest would take the lead, their Sculptor. They had aid from the others, of course, we all cared a great deal for each other, and we'd spend a year working to get every last marking perfect. Then, on the final day, the ones among us with the steadiest hands would chip away a sliver of divinity from where he fell, sized to fit perfectly in your hand.

"We'd place it in their chest and stand by as the clay writhed and shuddered with new life, organs forming in the hollow chest cavity, blood pumping for the first time through empty veins, nerves exploding with sensation all at once. That was the most painful part, for them as well as their Sculptor, who would stand by and watch but know better than to touch them, as much as they might want to give comfort, as it might mar the clay that had not yet set.

"But it would pass. It would pass, and they would stand up and greet you with life in their chest again. You would know that you had done well when they smiled that same smile you'd been missing for a year and a day, and nothing had changed in a way that mattered.

"I sculpted her almost more times than I can remember, as she had sculpted me. Not every time, certainly not every time, but enough times that no one would challenge either of us for the role once we had claimed it. Hundreds of years of memories poured into her clay each time.

"She was everything to me - my mentor, my lover, my best friend, my protector, my partner, my guide, my creator, my creation. They were worth so much that I left our world with them, walked away from our demiplanar home and our life's work, just so that I would not have to leave their side.

"And there were no regrets in leaving. We found a new home, full of love and laughter even amongst the strife of adventure. Champion's Call, obviously. Everyone got along with her instantly, like she was meant to be there all along.

"Though my name is the one that evokes light, they were truly our beacon. Always the optimist, cool and calm against any threat, convincing the rest of us that we were going to fight and win and live through sheer will power. Outside of battle, the truest, kindest friend you could ask for. He was … our Break.

"She gave herself up for us, in the end. She stood between the planes so that we could all get out safe, running between two losing battlegrounds. They knew they could be rebuilt. They trusted me to remake them. And I did.

"But the things that allowed her to leave home the first time were … not quite so in this new form, and time had altered a few key factors in the social situation as well. So when I stepped back to rejoin my friends in retirement, she chose to remain behind."

Day sits for this interview, one of the few they ever managed to get pinned down for, formally describing their relationship with Break to some young and curious reporter with a notepad. It's uncomfortable, mostly because he's not used to this kind of attention the way the rest of the Call were. They all had the year after the planar split where they were hounded by people like this (and other, far less respectful ones) to get used to the questions and scrutiny. But Day had been doing as he described, a year and a day in the Aegis home plane, and only now was he facing the effects of his fame.

It feels strange to answer these questions, baring open the secrets of the Aegis. But then again, they've been around for hundreds of years, the legend is nothing new, and it's not like he's shared any details that people didn't already know at some point or another. Hopefully, he can end up correcting some of the truly egregious bits of misinformation out there.

Everything they say is all very formal, very planned (they sat down with Kez to practice their interview voice all of yesterday), just enough to make this reporter think they're getting the whole story. Just enough omission that they don't know where to ask the kind of prying questions that will really hurt to hear.

She fiddles with something in her hand as she talks, turning it over and over and over and over to keep calm. It looks like a stone, perhaps. Off white, rubbed smooth and shiny with wear. Sized perfectly to fit in her hand.

The reporter had eyed it when he slipped it out of his pocket before they sat down, but hadn't asked anything outright. "Just a worry stone," Day had told them, to keep them from getting curious later. "I'm not used to fame quite yet, still get anxious doing things like this - off the record, of course." This last bit said with a coy grin on Kez's advice, to imply that they're already quite comfortable, giving away perhaps a few extra details, so the reporter wouldn't feel the need to press for any.

"And I assume you miss her?" the reporter asks, eyes flitting up from their notepad for the first time in several minutes.

"You would assume correctly," Day answers, squeezing the item in her hand so tight it threatens to leave permanent marks in the clay of her palm. "Though, of course, I understand why she had to stay. And time has helped close the wound, at least part of the way."

"Do you think you'll ever see her again? That she'll leave - or that you'll return home?"

"Perhaps," and it's everything he can do not to shatter it, but he doesn't, he can't, it's all he has left of her. "I doubt she'll leave, but I may go back. Not any time soon though, I've got plenty of years still to keep the rest of the Call company out here before I go anywhere. And who's to say what will happen in those years to change my plans. We've already got one little one to see grow up, and I wouldn't be surprised if there were more soon."

Mention Callie getting pregnant if you need to change the subject, Kez had said. They'll drink that shit up like it's elvish firewine.

As promised, the reporter's eyebrows raise. "Are you implying the Edlynne family is expecting a second child?"

"No, no, not yet - at least as far as I'm aware." Day laughs, casually. The item is back to being turned, gently, between their fingers. "I'm just saying, Arthur and Callie have only fallen more in love in their retirement. Anything could happen."

The rest of the interview floats by, mostly questions about what it felt like to talk to a god as someone who was a direct creation of a god (intimidating, still), and whether they've visited any of the now-missing planes in any of their lifetimes (about half of them), and who in the Call would win at charades (Kez, not because of skill, but because of stubborn rules lawyering).

The interviewer stands up to shake their hand, Day returns the favor, and then quickly ducks out of the room, leaving them alone to gather their things in the parlor of Kez's tower. She's waiting for Day just up the stairs, arms ready for a hug that Day practically falls into. There's no tears, but there is a heaviness to it, enough that Kez has to guide them over to a chair and settle down across Day's lap, or else she wouldn't have been able to hold on to him.

"Why does it hurt so much to talk about?" Day mutters into their shoulder.

"Because it was everything, and now it's over." Kez's tone is soft, despite the matter-of-factness of their words. They've already had this conversation, several times, it's not like Day needs to hear the message. Just their voice.

"How on earth did you sit through so many of those things without losing it?"

"I was on WAYYYYYYY more drugs than you are right now, Daisy. Or drunk. Or both. Do you want something?"

"No. Maybe. No. … Later." Day repositions her head, unburying her face from his shoulder, turning sideways to press her cheek to his chest. She can hear his heartbeat, steady, strong, alive. "Can we just sit here for a bit?"

"Of course," Kez murmurs, pressing a kiss to the top of Day's head before threading a hand into their hair, keeping their head close.

They lightly squash and reform the locs beneath their fingertips, methodically working one of the more mold-able areas of clay in that way Day's always found calming. He hums contentedly, almost on cue. The godpiece is still in his hand, slung around Kez's back and resting near their hip.

He starts turning it over again, spinning with the same rhythm as Kez's fingers in his hair. He knows there's nothing there, really, but he can swear he feels a bit of energy sparking through it, into his hand. For a moment, just a moment, he can pretend all three of them are in one room again.

.

.

Broken Shackle

Before your life on the road, you suffered a persistent dread that you would end up condemned to a life of unnoticed misery. You were reminded of this fear every time you touched this object. Roll a d6 or choose, then describe the detail in your own words: - This was part of a profession you are glad to have escaped. - It was a way for society to punish what it did not understand. - Every detail whispers the dark promise of tedium. - Its delicate features make your strong hands feel ugly and unworthy. - It looked old and broken before you ever touched it and it looks much the same now. - This was given to you by someone with love in their eyes and pride in their heart.

The second to last look that Break ever held on her face was fear.

Fear that it would all be for nothing, that their little family would be torn apart if Thorn and Kez couldn't scramble through fast enough, that the cracks she could already feel climbing up her arms as she baked in the radiation of the space between planes would give out too soon and the rift would collapse and something devastating would happen.

Fear that she would not be strong enough to commit herself to this.

But that look faded quick enough, as she manged to stretch her hand out and yank Thorn through the portal, collapsing under the weight now borne on only one shattering arm.

They were all safe, she had kept them safe, she had kept the world safe. The planes were going to rip apart, and she was not going to get out in this last half a second, but that didn't matter in the slightest. She could see them all standing together, staring at her, in various stages of horror as they figured out what was happening.

Don't worry, she wants to say, but there isn't time. It doesn't hurt, she promises. I know what I'm doing, she thinks.

I chose this. I chose you. Every day I chose you, and I would never not choose you.

Do you believe me? I need you to believe me.

Everything I feel for you, it's written in my heart, in my core. If it's the last thing I do, I will give it to you, to make sure you believe me.

It's here, in my chest, Day put it there years ago. It's under my sternum. I can feel the cracks forming. The air's already hitting it, three inches deep.

Someone catch it, when I go.

Take it, hold it, feel it, so you know how much I cared for you, what I would have done for you, how I would have stood here crumbling for a thousand years for you, if it came to it. Take it and know, and let those sad, scared looks fall off your faces.

Don't worry. It doesn't hurt. I know what I'm doing.

I chose this. I chose you.

The last look Break ever held on her face was love.

.

.

Ghostly Comfort

Even if you despised your former life, there was at least one bright spot. What purpose did this serve? Choose one, then describe the detail in your own words: - It helped me sleep. - It reminded me of those I have lost. - It was a glimmer of beauty lost in ugliness. - It eased my pain.

They were in love until they weren't, because Day became too different of a person in the aftermath to feel those feelings the way he used to, they way they were expecting him to, like nothing had changed. He could fall back into the routine easy enough for a moment, a day, a week. But it was never going to be permanent. It was never going to be the way it used to be.

In the years since, you have tried unsuccessfully to recreate what you derived from this object. Write about the moment when you decided to discard your most recent attempt.

He tried pretty recently to reconnect, then ended up scrapping it and throwing it away: https://glasyasbutch.tumblr.com/post/748899769588596736/findings-in-the-waste-paper-basket-of-a-particular

Alternate answer, he tried pretty recently to reconnect, then ended up scrapping it and throwing it away:

"It really made me realize something, Kez, and you need to hear it. But you're going to hate it, so it's a good thing I'm telling you now, because I'm about to walk out that door and leave so you can get mad and strawman me as much as you need until you really process what I said to you ..."

[aokozaki]

Xenoblade 3 has a habit of vaguely alluding to plot points in a way where like, the characters have a conversation, and you won't know what it means until much later.

For instance, early on Mio comments on Noah's Blade being special, and Noah responds that he's surprised she noticed - she's only the second person who ever has.

And you'd probably assume it means the hilt of Lucky Seven - since Noah in Swordfighter Class as a slightly different model to everyone else. But no, it's actually related to the "sound" Noah and Mio heard during their first fight before becoming Ouroborus.

Lucky Seven vibrates and glows when in the presence of Moebius. Compare how it looks most of the time:

To how it looks as Noah fights Mio, as he notices the sound, as he exclaims that she must hear it too - as Mio herself notices Noah's sword is different, which she asks about later:

A sword that glows both blue and green. As Future Connected confirms, the red color of Noah's Blade, the "sheath" he puts around Lucky Seven, is explicitly because of Pyra's version of the Aegis.

And Lucky Seven itself, as old as Aionios itself, with a circular motif on the hilt, and somehow vaguely infused with the journey of Riku's daddapon (be that Riki or Kino), connecting it strongly to the world of Bionis...

Takahashi put the Monado (or at least, a Monado) inside the Aegis. What a perfect way to intersect both worlds...

[fostersffff]

Visions of Mana Demo Impressions

The Good:

I LOVE the big, elaborate, gacha-esque animations that play the first time you do a class change with a character. Excellent stuff, they were clearly tapped into what people (i.e. me) loved about the original the original Trials of Mana and the remake: class changing is cool.

I also love that all the characters get at least three kinds of weapons! I assumed it would just be main character Val who got to choose between Sword, Greatsword, and Lance, but Careena and Morley get Spear, Fans, and Fists, and Katana, Daggers, and Staff! (although they don't have any classes that can use Fists or Staff in the demo, but they're there in the shop)

Actually, I guess this is where I should get into how the classes affect combat, which I am relieved to say is "noticeably". The demo gives you three party members and two "elemental vessels", Sylphid (Wind) and Luna (Moon). All the characters have a base class, but you can class change them by equipping a vessel to them. Val, for example, starts out as a Guard, becomes a Rune Knight when equipping Sylphid, and an Aegis when equipping Luna. Each class uses a particular weapon, so using Val as an example again, Guard uses Sword, Rune Knight uses Greatsword, and Aegis uses Lance. Based on Careena and Morley (whose two classes use the same weapon), the attack strings are the same for each weapon, but certain attack commands can only be learned by investing in a particular class's skill tree.

The classes are further differentiated by having a vessel power, which is a cooldown that works the same between all the characters: Sylphid throws out a boomerang that pops enemies up into the air, and Luna creates a time bubble that slows down enemies and increases party attack and casting speed. Because the vessel powers are tied to classes, they seem to be designed in such a way that they pretty synergystic with the kit of the class (at least based on the demo). Takes some time to charge your shield as an Aegis? Create a time bubble!

I don't know exactly how much variety they'll be able to muster across all eight elemental vessels and five playable characters, but at least based on this demo it feels like Visions of Mana is situated in the same zip code as Granblue Fantasy Relink when it comes to variety, which is I was I was hoping for in my heart of hearts.

Tremendously endearing the have Morley wield a third dagger with his tail. Superb.

You also have a shortcut menu for items and spells, but you also have the Ring Menu, and the Ring Menu is still the perfect ARPG solution for items and spells, as it has been since 1993.

RETURN OF THE MOOGLE STATUS EFFECT WE'RE SO BACK

I'm about to talk about the dub, but before I do: giving the Japanese Dragon Priestess a Southern U.S. accent is a really endearing choice.

The Bad:

I think they dub these games wrong as a joke. Like, Trials of Mana also has a notoriously poor dub, and this isn't really doing that much better despite it being four years later and everyone knowing how bad that game's dub is. Again, it just sounds like no one is 100% sure of their character voice and are sight reading their lines for the first time. Because there's also a lot more incidental dialogue, and because the script isn't based on a pressed-for-space SNES game, I worry the quality of the dub is going to stick out even more.

These cutscenes have a lot of, uh… weird wiggling? I’m not sure how else to describe that thing where it feels like characters are doing large body gestures that maybe make sense in Japanese but not so much in English? Seriously, watch the video: there's 5 seconds where Careena is just wildly gesticulating, saying nothing, while the guards walk up to seize her.

Hoping they can tune up movement a bit between this and the final release. Even in performance mode, the game felt a bit crusty here and there, but there's only one aspect of it that I would argue is fundamentally designed wrong, which is cancelling dash momentum into a jump. It was bad in Smash Bros. Brawl, and it's bad here, but at least it's somewhat mitigated by Infinite Airdashing.

I'm hoping there's a relatively even distribution of "open world" type areas and thoughtfully designed "action stages". The open world area in the demo is neat and I love the pikul, but enemies felt pretty conservatively sprinkled around. I like fighting dudes in ARPGs!

The story felt a little too Saturday Morning Cartoon-y, considering the emotion I most associate with the Mana series is melancholy, but then you get on the boat and the one guy is like “hey you know there are legends that we didn't used to have to send eight sacrifices out to die every year” and your party is like “whaaat, that’s crazy, we have to go die!”, so there might actually be some juice here.

To be honest, a lot of what I have to say about this demo is pretty close to what I had to say about the demo for Trials of Mana years ago. Which is interesting, because as far as I can tell, an entirely different team than the one responsible for that game is making this one (NetEase subsidiary Ouka Studios, rather than Xeen Inc.).

[the-blazing-light]

How about, rank characters from dexterity to strength as in what they use for combat maybe note a specific trait of dexterity/strength for some characters

I ain't gonna do all characters cuz that's dfhjgjh a lot of 'em to get down to but I'll throw in some that I think deserve a shoutout in that sense but dfjghjh that's gonna be a long one anyway

To no one's surprise, Arengar is extremely physically strong, and being Blood Legion born and raised, yeah he prefers to approach fights with brute force of muscle and magic rather than in any dexterous or stealthy way, and being a heavy-armored, 8 feet tall charr makes trying to be agile or sneaky hard to begin with, him preferring to block hits with aegis and other guardian spells or just straight-up take 'em as opposed to dodging them. All that to say, not that he can't fight with strategy and intelligence put into it, but he certainly prefers just a plain, head-on approach 90% of the time, as for a charr of his particular skillset the alternatives are usually a waste of time

Kaia is yet another meat wall of a charr. She's extremely strong and durable, as expected of a warrior, and is even more hard-headed and straightforward than Arengar is. Being a warrior, she can't really protect her friends with any sorta spells, instead using her own body as a shield, able to take the punishment and give it back to the enemy twice as hard. Additionally, she's a spellbreaker, with her approach to it involving literally throwing whatever magic her enemies tossed at her right back in their face, so a lot of the time getting hit is her battle tactic. Get hit, shrug it off, toss it back and pummel your opponent with a hammer until it's done.

Alistair on the other hand really isn't physically strong nor durable. He's an agile, quick mesmer, who can't really take hits but if he plays his cards right, he doesn't in the first place. Confusing his enemies, teleporting around constantly, staying away from the opponent and cloaking himself with mesmer magic is core of his fighting style, with the way he fights it's almost a dance: graceful, fast and quite deadly.

Now Arren's a perfect combination of the two. He's very short, but stocky, quick and unexpectedly strong. His hits pack a punch but also being a thief he's extremely hard to catch and pin down, which he uses to his advantage.

Now Aela is on the other side where she's surprisingly agile. She's a heavy-armored soldier, and yet she's extremely lean and fast, dashing and teleporting around, delivering quick, deadly strikes, cutting down the enemy before they can even strike back. Her and Arren actually share a very similar fighting style, being trained together in Ash Legion, but both adapted it to suit better their professions, thief and guardian respectively.

Lani's just another massive, bulky brick wall that swings around a hammer that's twice as big as some humans. Not much to say here, he's not known for being good at strategy or... Some would say thinking in general, but he sure can handle himself in a fight, be it an all-out war effort or just another bar brawl.

Zemzus is interesting, because he's your typical run of the mill scholar with athleticism of a wet noodle, but he's also an extremely powerful reaper necromancer. While he's not powerful physically per say, he more than makes up for it with his magic, which allows him to just rely on sheer brute force of it.

[dailycharacteroption]

Fun with Feats 12: Aldori Style

(art by Akeiron on DeviantArt)

 When you start studying history, you can see how even in the distant past, the littlest thing that becomes popular can change the course of all future development, and this is especially true when it comes to weapons. After all, a single popular weapon can end up being a cultural staple of an entire civilization, such as the Spartan shield and spear combo, or the Japanese katana and other samurai mainstays.

A perfect example of this in the Lost Omens setting of Pathfinder are the Aldori swordlords, which are already represented in the game with both archetypes and prestige classes. Named for the Baron that introduced the style and codified it, creating an exclusive cadre of duelists and warriors that pass on their skills to only those who they consider worthy, and whom have a vested interest in keeping the style exclusive, even going as far as to hunt those who taught the style to non-members or who have learned from such traitors.

In any case, the Aldori Style feats, which we will be focusing on today, revolve around the Aldori dueling sword, a somewhat curved blade that rests as somewhat a hybrid of longsword and scimitar. Without the exotic weapon proficiency for it, a wielder can treat it as a longsword easy enough, but those properly trained can use the one-handed blade as a finesse weapon for the use of the Weapon Finesse feat, though it can still be switched to a two-handed grip to increase power, making it overall a very versatile weapon.

This string of style feats has a lot of prerequisites, making fighters the most common users, though most martial characters can get into it if they invest the feats early.

 With the basic Style, a swordsmaster wielding their signature weapon masters the forms and movements to increase the harm they do with their strokes, carving into foes.

Though it is a graceful and agile weapon, the dueling sword is still heavy enough to block and redirect incoming blows, and those that learn to quickly reverse their grip can use it as their Aegis, letting them parry incoming blades, though not necessarily riposte against them.

Finally, those who master the Conquest form can parry with the best, causing no loss in accuracy when parrying and blocking blows.

As one can see, this style offers both offensive and defensive options that stack neatly with any other Aldori swordlord-themed archetypes or prestige classes, most of which also mix offense, defense, and even abilities of intimidation as they demonstrate incredible grace and lethal precision with their signature weapons, cementing the dueling sword as the superior weapon… at least, according to the Swordlords. If you are planning on playing a swordlord, or perhaps just a similar master swordsperson in another setting, this style may be for you.

[bestworstcase]

Maybe I'm looking at this differently, but I feel like a point about this discussion about Salem really just drives home how reductive the mentality behind "cool story, still murder" really is, and of the need to "punish" them regardless of the complexity of the circumstances, and regardless of the full context.

Like, forgive me if I'm misunderstanding or phrasing this poorly, but to me a large part of the series highlighted the fundamentally complex ways in how one can sink into evil. With Ozpin sinking into it without even realizing it because of his devotion to a cruel manipulative god contrasting his deeply buried love for his anti-god ex-wife, Adam sinking into evil because his bloodlust and need to satiate his cruelty against his enemies that overwhelmed whatever desire for justice he might have once had, Ironwood sinking into evil because he's utterly lacking in any self-awareness and needs to satiate his egotistical fantasy and inability to recognize his own fascistic indoctrination...

And Salem stands out when you think about it because the prior characters fell into evil by a complex network of choices, of compromises driven by an unwillingness to re-evaluate their actions, trapping them into a downward spiral that they can't drag themselves out of. Salem, if your thesis is accurate...is basically something of an anomaly because a large part of the problem ISN'T her choice. She was driven there because everyone else decided she was the villain even when she was trying NOT to be. It doesn't justify the evil things she did do, but I feel like that difference is important somehow.

And in that sense, if she does ultimately make the choice to ask for aid (even if she needs prodding from an outside source, or if there's evidence of it being beneficial to her), what would it prove for her to be "proven in the wrong" anyways? Ironwood was proven wrong because he refused to STOP being wrong, as was Adam. Ozpin is in the middle of being dragged out of being wrong and recognizing the flaws of his mandate and the world he's created in the pursuit of his mission, even if they haven't quite gotten there yet. A large part of the story is how important our choices are, and that we always have, and should have the right to turn back away from bad choices, even if it means having to confront the damage we caused in the process.

So to just reduce Salem's story to "cool story, still murder" just feels reductive, and essentially taking away her autonomy again for the sake of the satisfaction of the audience.

Like, sorry if what I said made absolutely no sense, I'm having a hard time getting my thoughts out right.

no yeah i think you nailed it. salem clung to being good for way longer and through way more profoundly awful circumstances than could reasonably be expected of anybody, until ozma put her in a position where she can either… become a willing participant in her own increasingly exorbitant punishment, or embrace the scapegoating and refashion that role into an aegis; being the evil witch keeps her safe by prohibiting the fulfillment of the mandate. and… there’s some oddities in the outward facing surface that i do think are best interpreted as deliberate masking, as playing to the expectations of the part. the way she slumps and pulls into herself after the grandiose little speech in 6.4, for example. the… everything about the fight in 8.9 is bizarre if salem intends to recapture the kids but makes perfect sense as a ploy to let her lieutenant’s kid go unharmed without tipping her hand. and then there’s the thing where if summer really is a turncoat who joined salem, then the remark salem makes about her in 7.11 is a bit of verbal sleight of hand that leads ruby to the incorrect conclusion that salem killed her mother. so there is this subtle element of Performance, very similar to the performative mimicry we see more clearly with cinder (which is sort of funny, in that cinder’s mimicry of salem’s mannerisms might just be one performance imitating another.)

and like if salem’s villainy is a performative role she has taken up out of, predominantly, desperation and resigned certainty that this is the only way to protect herself from the gods because no one else is willing to help her, then… what ‘proving her wrong’ entails is helping her. further punishment or condemnation only confirms and reinforces her understanding of the world and how it will treat her irrespective of her actions, entrenching the problem further—in this she is, again, very similar to cinder—and doing fuck all to prevent her from continuing to hurt people in the future. is it more important to win symbolic moral victories by telling her off, or resolve the problem by allowing her to leave it behind? does avenging the past matter more than healing the present and creating a better future? etc.

similarly i don’t think salem is going to be “”redeemed“” by purging her of grimm corruption or whatever, because the dehumanizing rhetoric used to scapegoat her is predicated on her ostensible corruption and if her acceptance is predicated on its purification then that… er, proves her right. if being treated like a person is contingent not on her actions but on whether or not she looks human enough then nothing she does matters at all, and she has no reason to change now that she’s been “”saved;“” she’ll always know that her humanity might be stripped away again at any moment, for any reason, putting her right back at square one. it’s a very hollow and cynical way of dealing with her. (and with cinder. cinder is a repetition of salem in a lot of ways and nearly everything that can be said of salem applies to her as well.)

this is also something rwby illustrates symbolically through the device of salem’s hitherto fruitless search for the crown of choice: she begins her campaign for the relics by going after choice, and almost a year later she has yet to discover its location because ozpin took special care to hide it in a way she didn’t expect and can’t unravel. laying aside the fun puzzle box of why he might be so uniquely determined to keep the crown out of her hands versus the other three, the overt symbolism here is that salem lacks meaningful choice because it is deliberately withheld from her and she is resolute on taking it back, by any means necessary. it is not accidental that the agents she applies to this problem are 1. the maiden of choice who was a slave and yearns for freedom and safety, which she understands to mean power, and (likely) 2. the turncoat who broke beneath the crushing weight of being the pure heroic savior. both salem and cinder, and i suspect this’ll apply to summer too, are looking for agency in a world that denied it to them.

“cool motive, still murder” pithily gestures at the moral principle that people are still responsible for their actions even when bad things happened to them—but on the other hand moral absolutism is not helpful in circumstances where the only way to be good is to tolerate grievous harm to yourself or actively participate in your own abuse. cinder is i think the clearest illustration of the dilemma, because a huntsman—the living embodiment of what “goodness” looks like, in the society ozma has constructed—tells her explicitly that killing the woman who put a shock collar on her is wrong and that she must instead remain in this situation for seven more years while he trains her in secret to give her a chance to earn her freedom by passing the entrance exams for the huntsman academies. she is told, overtly, that the only way to be good is to accept being tortured every day. in salem’s story the imposition of that moral is subtler but no less inescapable. and this is the context in which both characters are selfish—if they do not care about themselves and prioritize their own safety above everything else, no one else will, and the abuse they suffer will continue forever. under such circumstances selflessness is not a virtue—it’s self-destructive, ruinous.

(ozma is a case study of that.)

if the goal is to prove salem wrong, or prove cinder wrong—and it should be, because the way the two of them view themselves and the world is incredibly warped—then the proof must be that the world can receive them with kindness. in order for the violence and destruction they author to be unnecessary the possibility that they can be safe and free without ripping it bodily out of an uncaring world needs to exist, and so far it… really doesn’t seem to, yet. this is the main reason i’m thinking that their villain -> hero arcs are going to be intertwined and interdependent; they both need variations on the same thing and are best positioned out of anyone in the cast to offer that to each other, salem by willingly relinquishing her control over cinder, already begun through her surrender of the power struggle in V8, and cinder by engaging with salem as a person rather than a devil-or-divine rorschach test, also already begun, in that she is increasingly thinking of salem as a rival and peer.

[youthofpandas]

Kris year in review (in which i talk about everything i remember that i watched and played and read) bc I like to talk about things . this is so incredibly long do not feel like you have to look at this okay guys. okay. I already wrote this up so im just gonna post it

Games I played:

AI: The Somnium Files - a fantastic game I highly recommend if you like weird characters and stories and are a fan of visual novels/adventure games <3 super fun

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim - AMAZING cast of characters and fun gameplay I didn’t want to stop playing, great plot I will be thinking about forever…

Bugsnax - very funny and cute and I loved catching every bugsnax and the fun characters I want to play the 2nd one when it comes out

Psyconauts - a cult classic for a reason. Loved it’s style but the final level is so bad I would not wish it upon my worst enemy. Looking forward to finishing 2 one day

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 - I haven’t gotten to finish this one yet (I got 80 hours in okay??) but I’m incredibly excited to get back to it. GOTY BABY!!! GAME OF ALL TIME!!

Nier Automata - ALSO THE GAME OF ALL TIME this is a must play it broke me it healed me it made me see the beauty of art and story telling that games are capable of it’s really just fantastic. for the love of god do not stop after ending A. Love this game so much.

Ongoing Manga I am currently reading

Chainsaw Man - starting off with the best one. CSM is so incredibly important to me and one of the best stories I have ever read. if you have talked to me at ALL you know how I cannot shut up about Denji and i AM NOT SORRY!!!

I Want to Hold Aono-kun so Badly I Could Die - fantastic supernatural/horror themed romance and one of my favorite romances I read this year

Black Clover - made me realize how truly trash bnha is at writing women lmao. Good battle shonen but nothing overwhelming special about it. It understands the basics and does them all well

D Gray Man - didn’t catch up on this one yet but it’s got great characters and some of the worst action paneling I’ve ever seen.

Dungeon Meshi - y’all were right it’s funny and can be very touching at time

A Condition Called Love - I can fix him romance but make it not feel toxic the manga. Super cute I love them.

Toilet Bound Hanako-kun - I feel like I started this last year but I know that can’t be true… supernatural + romance + cute art. It’s made me cry.

Jujutsu Kaisen - loved this baby and then I caught up to the current arc and it was the worst shit of all time. Megumi my depressed king.

Frieren Beyond Journeys End - fantastic please read it I love these bitches so much

Spy x Family - it’s SxF it’s good we all know this

Manga I finished reading

Cardcaptor Sakura - I think this is my first CLAMP manga I finished. LOVED sakura and shaoran they are so small. so many good aspects to this series and then all of the age gap bullshit is there so IDK hard to recommend but I enjoyed reading all of the parts that weren't about horrible relationships

Horimiya - CUTE I love romance where you get to follow them as a couple <3 there were a few bad spots in it (miyamura's piercings being compared to self harm in that one chapter.......???????) but over all a good read

Astra: Lost in Space - fun scifi adventure with good characters. pretty short and easy read. its fun

You Got Me, Senpai - SO CUTE one of the best relationships I've read in a manga. adorable.

Drowning Love - verrry good and complex, a mature story with darker elements (check out trigger warnings for it) and a very engaging coming of age story about two kinda horrible kids with too much attention pointed their way living in a small town. anime adaptation WHEN

Wake Up, Sleeping Beauty - super cute romance, supernatural elements. loved it

Orange - think this would be a perfect read if the time travel element wasn't explained like That and also Suwa >>> Kakeru and what they did to his character in that bonus story was just mean

Goodbye, Eri - everyone should read this. beautiful, stays with you. fantastic exploration on what arts purpose is

A Kiss, For Real - it was cute. the summary makes it sound more romance focused than it actually is, there is a lot of focus on the MCs journey of growth and what she wants to do with her life. Romance was cute but not exceptionally so

Takopi's Original Sin - overhyped as hell. depressing outlook on life. thought some of it was fine but it is overall too cruel to say i enjoyed it, especially with a cast this young

The Girl From The Other Side - I actually 100% cannot remember if I read this last year or not. anyways. BEAUTIFUL art, great characters, compelling mysteries

Junji Ito's Dissolving Classroom - not his best work by far, but it is one of his earliest so I don't care too much.

Spotless Love: This Love Cannot Be Any More Beautiful. - I haven't been adding the ones that aren't popular unless I really enjoyed them, but idk this one is just so wild I felt the need to throw it on here. girl who loves to clean x child assassin is certainly a relationship dynamic. they're funny

Anime I watched <3 THIS SECTION WILL BE LONG SORRY

Akiba Maid War - this is not very good but it is entertaining so...

Ano Hana - rewatched this one finally! still one of the best dramas of all time. did you know childe and jintan have the same english VA bc I know. I know this now.

BNA - the plot point about how the furries were victims in the literal real world holocaust made me kind of hate this I won't lie. also the best friend fox girl Nazuna is one of the most unbearable characters ever. when you lead a cult pretending to be an important religious figure to a culture you are not part of because you like attention i guess?? it is not a good look in a show that already deals so heavily in antisemetic themes & imagery for it's villains.... sorry to whoever recommended this to me :( great animation

Dance Dance Danseur - did not like the MC but I did like the FMC and Rival character, good animation. I read the authors shoujo title Drowning Love this year and it should've gotten the adaptation TBH but this was fine, last few episodes carried

Death Parade - rewatched this one this year and it is still amazing. OP is still one of the best out there.

Do It Yourself!! - not incredibly remarkable yuri bait with a fantastic art style. its fine if you like cute girls doing cute things while being gay genre

Erased - for a mystery story the culprit is laughably obvious. the rest of it is pretty good though. oh lol other than the weird jokes about the protags taste in girls but it never followed through on anything so compared to other series im too tired to care

Keep Your Hand's Off Eizouken - starts off strong but I couldn't keep caring by the end tbh. it does not help I started it and then stopped for like 7 months and then finally finished the show so that's probably rly affecting my feelings

Today's Menu for the Emiya Family - certified apron boy moment

Fire Force - do NOT fucking watch this show is is so actually bad. However. Arthur is so funny I have to finish the series

Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works - rin best girl. maybe fate isn't so bad after all.

Fruits Basket (2019) all seasons - LOVE ME SOME SHOUJO!!!! it slays everyone needs to watch this NOW

Jujutsu Kaisen 0 - fantastic movie i need to watch it again

Kaguya-sama Love is War - only watched the first season but it's fun, not the best without breaks. the people saying this is the best animanga romance need to read more shoujo though

Mob Psycho 100 s3 - I cried. It's beautiful. I don't need to say anything else

NGE - this was a rewatch a long time coming. Truly didn't understand shit watching this as a teenager lol. it's better than I could've imagined and a lot of the criticisms i used to have were actually stupid and a byproduct of not understanding what it was doing

Sarazanmai - 10/10 gay kappa connections cycles trauma love mafia boxes cops otters I WANT TO CONNECT, but.........

spy x family s1 - its good its sxf

Zombieland Saga + Revenge - first idol anime I watched. the main girl was way too relatable for comfort. good time.

Movies I watched (I am bad at talking about movies sorry)

Turning Red - super good loved the everything I can’t believe it came out this year. I’ve watched it 3 times.

Scream (the entire movie series) - it’s scream baby idk what else to say. First one is fantastic the rest are okay I guess but man… that first one is just sooo good it’s hard to live up to it

The Sea Beast - fun movie! Almost forgot I watched it

Monster High: The Movie - perfection 10/10 high art it should’ve been called Monster High: The Film

Skinamarink - loooove me a horror movie that says fuck doing what other movies do I am doing my own thing. Did not actually love the thing it did but it’s definitely not a bad movie

Wendell & Wild - STOP MOTION SWEEP !!!! Great movie I will return to on future Halloweens. Think the plot got a bit too big for the movies runtime or whatever but I really don’t care bc it was good so whatever

Disney’s ZOMBIES trilogy - bad.

Disney’s Descendants trilogy - bisexual. Less bad than zombies

The VelociPastor - a masterpiece baby!!

Glass Onion - absolutely fantastic, words can’t describe how fun this movie is

Pinocchio - stunning stop motion and a beautiful story that brought me to tears. icon.

[shiroselia]

Manda’s 13 Sentinels Thoughts #3 at 70%-ish remembrance because this game makes me go insane (MAJOR story spoilers, if you plan on playing 13 sentinels aegis rim, which you should game’s amazing, do Not click read more)

Juro: Once again, everything plotwise with this guy is more interesting than the guy himself, but that’s alright, he’s fine, his plot’s insane, Kurabe’s boring but that’s like half the point, but he’s nice, Izumi I am Very intrigued by, and since it’s still not Really obvious to me if there’s a clear “Who’s right vs Who’s wrong” in this game, I’m interested to know how Izumi’s whole deal unfolds, he atleast treats Kurabe pretty badly lmao

Shu: HE AND IDA EXISTS AT THE SAME TIME THEY *ARE* SEPARATE (Which the game through Shu also literally tells you, since he goes “We’re different”) Hohohoho man this guy’s story is so interesting (he’s one of the protags I’m been the slowest with progressing so now that I’m progressing him alot it’s like “Oh now This and This and This all makes sense”, really curious to know about Inaba’s deal is tho, is she too like Izumi? Who knows, either way I think Shu’s route is great, but to Me it’s more about how it puts other routes into perspectives since this is as I said a very less prioritised one for me personally, love Shu tho he’s really funny

Iori: I’ve been at 85% with her for the longest time so I feel like I know her deal... but I don’t know her deal for shit, like clearly she’s Morimura, but. What? Like I haven’t figured that out and the game hasn’t explained that yet so I’m still very ??? on her story. Love her tho I think she’s Such a nice character. She and Ei are cute, I think her Usami and Miwa are adorable. She’s nice, her route’s nice.

Ryoko: Urgh girlie you are being so manipulated. I originally thought she was gonna be the one to have the D-code key when Ogata’s route was like “You don’t have it anymore” since apparently this is all Ryoko’s fault based on her intro scene with Yuki, but clearly that wasn’t true, so I’m interested to learn about her whole “I ended the world” thing. Love her tho, feel So bad for her.

Usami: I really like her route it’s stupid interesting, and I think it was placed REALLY well for me too, perfect inbetween between “Lets me connect the dots” and “New dots I haven’t connected”. I really like her character I didn’t expect that much, and I think all her stuff with Ida is interesting. She and Ogata are also really nice together, they have a stupid fun dynamic.

Megumi: Fluffy is 100% Izumi (haven’t gotten this confirmed but with everything I know... yeah Fluffy’s Izumi), which eh definitely puts some Interesting perspective on Megumi’s route... I like her so much she’s such a desperate, flawed guy and I think her route’s really good, especially how it’s really good for putting everything into perspective really well

Yuki: Love her. Her route’s really interesting, but I feel like I don’t know enough about the black suit guys and 1985 Ida’s deal to know what’s going on there. But I think Yuki’s character is excellent and she’s always fun to play. Still very in the dark about her story though I feel.

Natsuno: Ironically enough, when I started her route I thought a lot of it was going to be “Oh this is mostly Natsuno being wrong isn’t it” and so far she seems to be the only guy who has hit the nail on the head basically immediately??? Can’t wait to see how it goes with knowing she has the kaiju control code thingy tho. She can’t catch a fucking break huh.

Miura: Love this guy!! He’s so much fun, a little less dramatic than Hiji but the exact same kind of fish out of water-ness I really love about both of them. He’s really cool. I think his route is one that reveals alot of shit really early that don’t make sense until you’ve played more, but now I’m like “Oh shit yeah ofc” due to stuff he shows really early (I’m assuming that 2188 is “the beginning”/first timeline/Sector 0 or 1). Idonno, what can I say, good character, good route.

Hijiyama: It is a crime against me personally that his route is so forced end-game, but that doesn’t stop me from loving it. It’s probably my favourite purely because of how fun I have while playing it, I think Hiji himself is amazing and his route heavily features Okino, who I also find fucking stupid funny, but in general everything that happens around Hiji is just. So funny. Even outside his route he’s just always a really funny and dramatic guy. Real ones cry everytime Hiji eats a yakisoba pan. Can’t wait until the game stops being mean and lets me continue his route. What the Fuck is Okino’s deal. (I think the game is Excellent at moral ambiguity if you can’t tell, I have no idea what’s going on but everyone’s doing their thing and everyone thinks they’re right and I think maybe everyone’s wrong actually.)

Ogata: Unexpected favourite guy And route??? I love him??? I didn’t expect this at all. Getting his route last was well worth waiting for I love him he’s so much fun. And his route is really interesting too and I Love how it works progression and narrative wise. Like insanity!!!

Ei: This guy... This fucking guy. WHAT is your deal Sekigahara. I mean I know his deal Kinda, but there’s still so much I’m like ??? on about him, but I think he’s stupid cool. He’s a serious character done very very well and I think he has some really good scenes with people. I think he’s really cool and I can’t wait to figure out his deal proper.

Gouto: ABSOLUTE BOLDASS TO GO “Well she’s under assassination threat you know” AT MIURA AS IF *HE ISN’T THE GUY WHO ORDERED EI TO KILL MORIMURA*!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (This guy may have been ULTRA forced to be the last route you do but that doesn’t mean I can’t already make connections!!!!!! Okay no I love him tho WHAT is his deal WHAT are your intentions are you an asshole or not!?!? Are you too being mega deceived? Are you aware?? WHAT IS YOUR DEAL GOUTO)

I have gotten so fucking locked by not doing destruction regularly and just going Ham on the story, so next time I play I’m gonna finish all the way up to Full Wave 2.

[byoldervine]

Character Info - General Harkrow

General Info

Name: Ivor Harkrow

Nicknames:

• General (title)

• Harkrow

Pronouns: He/Him

Age: Late 40s

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Unknown

Species: Tyrion

Place Of Birth: Tyrion

Current Home: Tyrion

Appearance

Harkrow is dark-skinned with black hair and plum-coloured eyes. He’s almost constantly wearing his full Guardian armour, helmet included. His armour has silver accents instead of the usual bronze to display his rank as a general

Personality

Harkrow is strict, impatient and prone to shouting. His temper has been a source of frustration for many who have worked with him. Harkrow is very motivated by power, abusing any scrap of which he can get. However, he is also very loyal and duty-bound, and sucks up to Aegis at any chance he gets in hopes of being recognised as valuable by his king and superior

Likes:

• Leadership

• Proving himself

• His work

Dislikes:

• Slackers and incompetent people

• Being undermined

• Failure

Known Abilities

• Flight - Like all Tyrions, Harkrow is able to fly using his retractable wings

• Illusions - Like all Tyrions, Harkrow is able to cast mirage illusions. Due to his high skill level, he is also beginning to work out how to cast holographic illusions, though he hasn’t yet perfected the art

• Harkrow also wields a Guardian spear as a weapon, which he is very competent with

Relationships

Family: N/A

Friends/Allies:

• Aegis Cantor (king, leader of the Guardians)

• Anessa Cantor (future queen, future leader of the Guardians)

• All the other Cantor children (royals, children of Aegis)

Enemies:

• Angelus (fugitive, target, vigilante)

• Enigma (fugitive, target, vigilante)

Backstory

General Harkrow has worked hard his entire life to get to where he is today; the highest ranking Guardian, save of course for Aegis himself. He sees himself as superior to most due to his title, all the power easily going to his head. All he wants is to prove to Aegis that he’s the most worthy of his favour and to maintain a space within Aegis’ inner circle in order to maintain as much power as possible, even if he has to suck up a little to do it

Fun Facts

• Harkrow is incredibly frustrated by the fact that he can’t use holographic illusions consistently. He attended a few of Ellegaarde’s classes, but left indignantly after she deduced that his spotty success was due to some mental blockages

• Harkrow was largely self-taught in illusions, flight and fighting, but when he joined the Guardians and began to train with them he thrived from the order and clear instruction, helping him to rise up the ranks quickly. As much as he hates it, he works best as a follower rather than a leader

• Harkrow keeps his armour on at all times, constantly displaying his status as the General of the Guardians

[solain-rhyo]

10 characters 10 fandoms 10 tags

(Stolen from @hiboudeluxe)

(Also these aren't in any real order)

Higgs (Death Stranding)

My favorite Troy Baker performance (and his best, imo). Higgs is fickle and dramatic and insane and makes for one of the most compelling videogame villains I've encountered. His banter with Sam is top tier trolling all of the time, and when his composure slips it gets really interesting.

Goro Takemura (Cyberpunk 2077)

I loved Takemura more than I loved Keanu Reeves' Johnny. He had such a presence and the enemies to friends arc between he and V remains one of my favorites. It is a goddamn shame he was not romanceable and if CDPR were ever to release DLC to that end I'd throw almost any amount of money at it.

Scar (Alien Vs Predator)

The catalyst for my monsterfucker awakening and my love of the Predator/AvP universes. So much un(?)intentional subtext between him and Lex, so much fuel for the fire. Wolf is deadlier, the Fugitive is sassier, Feral is... feral, but Scar is just... perfect.

Dana Scully (The X-Files)

Scully is still all these years later my favorite female character in any fandom. Her loyalty to Muider was undying, she was fiercely intelligent, and her influence on Mulder was a thing of beauty. Even when suffering from shitty writing post-seventh season she remained the highlight of the show for me.

Solas (Dragon Age: Inquisition, Dragon Age: Dreadwolf)

Did not anticipate just how much I'd be swept up by the bald elf apostate, particularly as he wasn't at all my type. One completed romance later revealed a shit ton of angst and a massive betrayal. I cannot fucking wait to see him as the villain in the next game and I think I'm in the minority wishing for an unhappy, tumultuous, tragic ending between him and Lavellan.

Aegis (Steelrising)

Aegis displayed a surprising amount of character development considering this was not a AAA title and that it was relatively short. Her design was gorgeous, her movements fluid in that strange mechanical way, and I loved the growing emotion within her as the game progressed.

Aerith (Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII Remake, and everything inbetween)

I've loved her since '97 when she shattered my heart and she was incredible in the remake. The dream scene she shares with Cloud breaks my heart all over again - their dynamic in the remake is easily in my top five (which is saying something considering I used to ship her with Sephiroth).

Ultra Magnus (Transformers: Prime)

What's not to love? Stern ancient warrior softens over time while kicking ass (and getting ass kicked).

Arthur Morgan (Red Dead Redemption 2)

Arthur is perhaps the most realistic version of a person depicted in a video game. He is a beautiful, tragic soul, and his transformation throughout the game is a gut-wrenching but incredible ride.

Thane Krios (Mass Effect 2 and 3)

Incredibly difficult to choose between Thane and Garrus, but I did it. Thane is an 11/10 alien boyfriend (even though they did him dirty in 3). The farewell letter he writes to Shepard is so painfully beautiful that it gets me sobbing every. single. time. (Also that silky-rough voice...!)

Feel free to do this for yourself and tag me if you do! I'm curious to see. :)

[crush3dmary]

🕯️💎💌

yooooo thanks for the ask my friend. Let's do this thing

🕯️was there a fic that was really hard on you to write, or took you to a place you didn't think it would take you?

I actually already answered this one with the clause of human nature but I think also my symphonia countdown fic A Generation of Ghosts about Zelos and Seles' relationship was a little hard for me too because it brought up some of my issues with my own family. I mean, you write from what you know though, so that's probably why the fic is one of my favourites I've written in a while lol

💎why is writing important to you?

Honestly I find writing to be very, very cathartic, I wish I had the creativity to write my own original work but I've found a cluster of fictional characters I project on so now I just put them in Situations(tm) and subject them to my own experiences or something very similar to it. When I started getting a lot of attention for my writing I started to veer a little too hard into the 'caring about stats and readers' mentality but at the end of the day I write for personal catharsis and anyone else who is along for the ride is welcome to enjoy it too.

💌share something with us about an up-and-coming work (WIP) that has you excited!

OKAY SO I'LL SHARE ONE FROM EACH OF MY FANDOMS BECAUSE I HAVE A LOT OF EXCITING STUFF ON THE GO RIGHT NOW!!

Symphonia: the final chapter of Absurdities and Echoes is finally underway and after a year of shelving it. I went and reread my outline for this chapter and there's a lot of tying up loose ends, closure, and a couple character interactions i'm really, REALLY excited to write.

Crestoria: my dead dove "bad end" AU (if you know you know) is about to have a very interesting update, and I've already written the second half and it might be my favourite Crestoria thing i've ever written to date, even more than my Aegis study which is my most popular fic to date. Forte has a breakdown and it's delicious.

YGO: When me and the wife were watching the final episodes and everyone gets on the boat to the ceremonial duel Fina was like "THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN THE PERFECT TIME FOR RYOU AND MALIK TO SORT THEIR SHIT OUT BUT NO WE NEED ANOTHER SCENE BETWEEN YAMI AND YUGI" so I was like I got you fam. So i'm planning an angstshipping/thiefshipping fic that parallels the two relationships, and if you really want a spoiler I plan to play around with the fact that I can't stick to one tense and use present tense for the angstshipping and past for the thiefshipping. It's gonna be good.